Bihar will host a weeklong international film festival in February 2006 and several Hollywood and Bollywood actors would participate in the fest.

Bihar will host a weeklong international film festival in February 2006.

The successful hosting of the festival will also drive home the point that the Nitish Kumar Government is bent on changing the image of the state - which is known more for lawlessness and backwardness, said Arjun Rai, State Minister for Information and Public Relations.

Rai, one of the younger ministers in Nitish Kumar Government, said that the National Film Development Corporation has initiated the move to organise the festival after the central government approval.

Rai said several Hollywood and Bollywood actors would participate in the fest.

The state government is already in the process of selecting cinema halls for the purpose. "We will come out with a full plan and programme soon," Rai said.

The Government is keen to promote the Bhojpuri film industry in the state and is planning to invite private investors to open multiplex cinema halls in Patna and Muzaffarpur.